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Funder collaborations – going further together

Stephen Torsi, the Foundation's Program Manager - Inclusive, Sustainable Economy & Jobs, shares insights from the interim evaluation of the WISE Grant Collaboration, including the essential elements to support positive and dynamic working relationships.

The WISE Grant collaboration was first conceived over breakfast at the 2022 Philanthropy Australia Conference, two years later, partners gathered for another breakfast event to celebrate a key milestone.

At Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, collaboration has long been part of our toolbox for creating impact. We support our grant partners to collaborate and join with other funders on particular issues. It was the Post-Covid Innovation Collaboration Grants Round, that inspired the team at Westpac Foundation to bring funders together for what would become the Work Integration Social Enterprise (WISE) Grant.

WISE Grant Collaboration (from L to R): Matt Knopp, Paul Ramsay Foundation; Amy Lyden, Westpac Foundation; Belinda Morrissey, English Family Foundation; Lynn Anderson, Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation; Stephen Torsi, Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation; Lisa Waldron, Westpac Foundation; Anna Le Masurier, Macquarie Group Foundation; Peter Walton, Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation; Sally McGeoch, Westpac Foundation; Jenna Palumbo, Minderoo Foundation.

Following an in depth ten-month co-design process involving the founding partners, a social enterprise advisory committee, academics and lawyers, the pilot grant round was launched in June 2023 and has subsequently dispersed over $4.7 million to 14 work integration social enterprises across Australia.

The partners wanted to really understand the ingredients of success and the challenges and lessons that could be shared with the broader philanthropy and social impact sectors.

They commissioned Day Four Projects to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the grant round and an interim report was released at the 2024 Philanthropy Australia Conference.

WISE Grant emerging principles of collaboration.

The evaluation showed that there were critical foundational elements that allowed partners to build trust and productive, dynamic working relationships.

These included:

A strong shared vision and goals.
Anchor funding from two Foundations (Paul Ramsay Foundation and Westpac Foundation).
External advice which provided valuable insight and instilled confidence that we were on the right track.
Transparent governance and processes, including a co-designed MOU and an advisory group with regular meetings, allowed the partners to fulfill their own internal process and keep a strong oversight.
Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation played two roles, as co-funder and as host of the pooled funds. The Foundation's special DGR listing was seen as a critical enabler that allowed flexible, pooled, flow-through funding and minimised administration for successful grant partners and co-funders.

WISE Grant Interim Evaluation Report

Access the report

These strong foundations enabled partners to navigate the individual and collective needs that had to be addressed – legal and governance structures, decision-making process, slightly different cohort and geographical priorities – all of which affected timelines and created risk. The pilot is still a significant draw on resources, that none of the partners anticipated fully. These elements created tensions that had to be worked through in sometimes difficult conversations but mutual respect and shared purpose sustained the collaboration.

$4 Million to support Work Integration Social Enterprise

There were also valuable lessons from the applicants, particularly regarding the lack of feedback regarding their applications. Despite the ‘pooled funding approach’, unsuccessful applicants still heard ‘no’ from seven different funders.

Collaboration can be challenging work, but solid foundations allow partners to be flexible, experimental and to learn from each other, do more together and develop deeper relationships across the process.

Pictured in the header image: 'Funder collaborations: effective practice and lessons learned' panel at the 2024 Philanthropy Australia Conference featuring Harriet McCallum, Mannifera; Sarah Hardy, The Ross Trust; WISE Stephen Torsi, Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation WISE; Lisa Waldron, Westpac Foundation and Scholars Trust; and Moderator: Genevieve Timmons, Philanthropic Executive and Consultant. Photo credit: Sam Oster (Silvertrace)